Christopher Gilbert Email & Phone Number

Chris Gilbert is one of the founding partners of Thompson & Horton LLP, which opened its doors for business representing school districts and other public entities on January 1, 2009. Prior to that, Mr. Gilbert was a partner in the School and Public Law Section of Bracewell & Giuliani LLP, where he practiced from 1993 to 2008. He is an experienced practitioner in all aspects of the representation of public and private schools, colleges, universities and other public entities, with a particular focus on the role of the First Amendment at these institutions. He is the current Chair of the School Law Section of the State Bar of Texas, and a former member of the national Board of Directors of the Education Law Association.Mr. Gilbert has litigated and advised clients on free speech rights of students and employees, free speech and the Internet, and free speech retaliation; school prayer, the distribution of religious literature in a school or government setting, the use of public facilities by religious groups, the celebration of religious holidays in the public schools, the rise of esoteric religions and their impact in the public sector, and the use of religious music in the public schools; dress codes; student newspapers and yearbooks; and library and curriculum issues.Mr. Gilbert is the author of “The Oldest Rule: A Primer on First Amendment Issues for Attorneys and School Officials” (Xlibris 2014). He was the lead author of the National Association of Pupil Services Administrators and Pennsylvania Association of Pupil Services Administrators’ amicus brief filed in the United States Supreme Court in Mahanoy Area School District v. B. L. by and through Levy, 141 S.Ct. 2038 (2021), a case involving online student speech, and the National School Board Association's amicus brief filed in the United States Supreme Court in Board of Educ. of Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 92 of Pottawatomie County v. Earls, 536 U.S. 822 (2002), a case involving the drug testing of students involved in extracurricular activities.

Listed skills include Government, Retaliation, Appeals, Education Law, and 14 others.